They Looked Like Strong Hands
by Lycan.Kallias
Summary: ."That idiot screwed everything up. He shattered my shell and hugged the child within me I thought died long ago." Gaara thinks about Naruto and how the blond change who him for the better. A short little one-shot. Songfic. Gaara/Naruto.


**A/N: I don't own these characters or the song.**

_Song Lyrics_

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**They Looked Like Strong Hands**

_This isn't who I am  
From confident to self doubt in 60 seconds  
Storming stages and stereos  
From here to there  
Trying to prove that I belong  
Trying to win approval  
From people that I don't know_

I hated myself for so long. I hated everything about myself but I covered it in rage. I tried to cover it with the blood of others. Because if everyone else hated me, then it hurt less to hate myself. And that... that was working just fine.

I lived.

Barely.

But still, I lived.

I didn't want to look at who I was. Who I had become. I knew I was a demon. I knew I was a monster. They were right. Those who shunned me and cast me aside. But no matter how hard I tried to make their words not matter to me, they got through and started killing the child within my heart. And when the child finally died, I snapped. Fine. They could call me a monster. They could call me a demon. I would become one. I would make them fear even uttering my name.

And I did.

But that did nothing to heal my bleeding heart.

_And I look so strong  
When the weight of all the world  
Don't take it's toll  
And I'd choose my side  
If I believed in what was right  
But I'm all wrong_

Then that idiot showed up. He tore that away from me. He shattered the shell I had surrounded myself with, and hugged the child I thought had died inside me. He wrapped up the heart that was bleeding itself to nothing. The stupid kid woke up the human part of me that I wanted to die. The part that could hurt, smile, cry... even love.

I couldn't get him off of my mind, out of my heart. It was like he burrowed himself inside me and nothing but death would bring him out. After our fight, I think I almost cried. Almost. Time passed and I found myself missing him. His smile. His idiotic ability to make me smile. His brightness. His stupid optimism.

And when the chance to see him again came, no part of me hesitated.

_I'm not larger than life  
I'm not taller than trees  
Do I mean what I say  
Or is it just this disease  
Where I never go home?_

I used to wish he would have left me alone. I used to wish he had let the piece of me clinging for acceptance alone to die with no one to morn the fact that he was gone. That he would have let my heart bleed out into nothing, become a dry shell before disintegrating into nothing but the sand that seemed would always be a part of me.

I don't anymore. I don't know when that happened.

It could have been sudden or it could have been gradual. He was just in my head telling me it was okay. I was going to be fine. Everyone deserves to be loved. Everyone could change the parts they hated about themselves. You could show those that hoped you would fail that you could do anything, be anything, as long as you held on to who you are inside.

_Never telling the truth  
How this life eats away  
Or admitting I'm fake  
And I'm questioning  
Whether this whole thing was worth it  
To die poor and all alone_

I can honestly say I love him. There isn't any doubt in my mind that I love him. Who couldn't love the one that made them realize they weren't expendable, the one that made them feel like their life was important, the one that made them feel like no matter who they were, they could become something else, that even if you were a monster... you could become a human once again.

_Just don't tell me  
This doesn't mean the world  
'Cause my ears would bleed  
And my heart would hit the floor_

I watch him as he walks ahead of me with confidence and hope. I haven't said any of this to him. I don't let him see the longing in my eyes. I don't let him see me watch his every move. And I haven't told him I love him.

My voice comes out hesitantly. "Hey Naruto." He stops and turns to me smiling.

I haven't told him I love him.

His voice is warm. "Gaara!"

Yet.

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**Oh my god. Another one-shot! But actually, this could be more than a onesie. Hm. It could be. It probably should be. Ha ha ha!**

**This was just kind of an idea that I found myself writing down without meaning to. **

**The song is **_They Looked Like Strong Hands_ by Bayside. **They're so awesome. **


End file.
